Before entering professional mixed martial arts competition, Hilo, Hawaii’s BJ “The Prodigy” Penn was a world-class Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner, earning his black belt under Andre Pederneiras in 2000. That same year, in Rio De Janeiro, Penn made history by becoming the first non-Brazilian to win the World Jiu-Jitsu Championships. Penn earned his trademark nickname, “The Prodigy,” for accomplishing his extraordinary feat of sport Jiu-Jitsu after only a few short years of mat time. It would turn out to be the the first of Penn's many displays of stunning martial arts virtuosity.

With substantial buzz already surrounding him, Penn made his professional MMA debut in 2001 for the UFC, where he quickly lived up to his prodigious moniker by dispatching his first three opponents, including respected lightweight veterans Din Thomas and Caol Uno, in the first round. After a setback to then-champion Jens Pulver in 2002, Penn went on a seven-fight unbeaten streak from 2002-2004, defeating notable fighters Matt Serra, “The Fireball Kid” Takanori Gomi, Matt Hughes and Rodrigo Gracie in the process. His upset of the bigger, stronger and seemingly impervious Hughes by chokeout earned Penn the UFC welterweight title.

After business disputes with the UFC derailed his title reign, forcing his abdication of the belt, Penn embarked upon a bizarre, if fascinating, stage of his career, accepting fights in various promotions all over the world with top level fighters of any weight class, including then-undefeated light heavyweight and future UFC champion Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida at 205 lbs., a full fifty pounds over Penn’s optimal fighting weight of 155 lbs.

Penn found mixed success upon his reentrance into the UFC as a welterweight in 2006, and would soon drop to his natural—and original—155 lb. weight to take the UFC Lightweight Championship in 2008. He became only the second fighter in MMA history behind Randy Couture to win major titles in two different weight divisions. Penn’s lightweight reign thereafter was marked by a newfound commitment to strength and conditioning preparation, and solidified his pound-for-pound legacy. Penn's two consecutive losses to the younger and quicker Frankie "The Answer" Edgar spelled the end of his long championship reign. While some fans questioned the legitimacy of the decision in their first encounter at Abu Dhabi, which Edgar won by a razor close margin, their rematch later in 2010 was a decisive victory by Edgar, and a reminder that it had been a long time since Penn had faced a hungry up-and-comer. Following the loss of his title, Penn vowed to fight more often and in varying weight classes.

Combining a granite chin with incredible flexibility and balance, Penn is not only one of the most difficult fighters in the world to finish, he is also one of the most accurate and damaging boxers in the sport, holding wins over the aforementioned Hughes, as well as Renzo Gracie and top lightweights Joe Stevenson, Sean Sherk, Kenny Florian, and Diego Sanchez. Renowned boxing trainer Freddie Roach has publicly stated that Penn is MMA’s best boxer. For eight years no lightweight fighter scored a takedown on Penn, and no lightweight fighter passed his guard.

In short, in a sport teeming with world-class athletes Penn simply rises above the fray, displaying a grace, precision and fighting instinct that can seem otherworldly. Despite his typical posture of easy tranquility during the course of a fight, it is not unusual to see Penn’s opponents exiting the Octagon badly bloodied, and in some cases simply mutilated, by the onslaught. Penn is regarded as one of MMA’s all-time greatest pound-for-pound fighters. One of Hawaii’s biggest celebrities, with a thriving website at bjpenn.com, he also has one of the largest and most avid fan bases of any fighter in the world.